My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils start off their road trip on a good note as they defeat the Marlins, 6-4.

The Phils begin their road trip against several good teams with a win as they defeat the Marlins, 6-4.

The Phils took the lead in the first as Jimmy Rollins started the game off with a solo home run, his second home run of the season, and his 36th lead-off home run of his career, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Marlins took the lead in their half of the first as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Gaby Sanchez hits a two-run double, knocking in Chris Coghlan, who had earlier singled, then went to third on Hanley Ramirez’s single, and Ramirez, who had just singled, giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead. The Marlins then took a 3-1 lead in the second as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Coghlan hits an RBI single, knocking in Omar Infante, who had earlier singled, then moved up to second base on Javier Vazquez’s sacrifce bunt, 2-4. The Phils then cut the Marlins’ lead in the third as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Joe Blanton, Rollins and Placido Polanco, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Blanton, making it a 3-2 Marlins’ lead, while sending Rollins up to third base, and Polanco to second base. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded, and now with two men out, the Phils tied the game up at three-all as Ross Gload hits an RBI single, scoing Rollins, before the Phils took a 4-3 lead as Polanco scored on a Vazquez catch error of catcher Joe Buck’s throw to the plate after Emilio Bonifacio’s throw to the plate went past Buck, while Howard would stop at third. The Phils then took a 5-2 lead in the fifth as, with a runner on third, and with nobody out, Polanco hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Shane Victorino, who had earlier tripled to start the inning. The Phils then made it 6-2 as, with two men on, and with one man out, Gload hits an RBI single, knocking in Howard, who had walked, then went to third on Raul Ibanez’s single, while sending Ibanez up to second base. The Marlins then made it a 6-4 Phils’ lead in the eighth as Sanchez hits a lead-off home run, his sixth home run of the year. That would be the final score as Ryan Madson recorded his fourth save of the year as he got Bonifacio to end the game by grounding out, 4-3.

Joe Blanton (1-1, 5.83) got the win as he pitched five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out two. Vance Worley recorded his first hold of the year as he pitched three innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks, while striking out two. Ryan Madson recorded his fourth save of the season as he pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit, while striking out one. Javier Vazquez (2-3, 6.88) took the lost as he pitched four and a third innings, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on nine hits and a walk. Edward Mujica, Brian Sanches and Randy Choate combined for four and two-thirds scoreless innings, giving up three hits (Mujica (2), Sanches (1)) and a walk (Sanches), while striking out five (Mujica (1), Sanches (3), Choate (1)) between them.

The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins (Single, Home Run, RBI), Ryan Howard (Double, Single, RBI), Raul Ibanez (Singles) and Ross Gload (Singles, 2 RBIs) all leading the team with two hits each. Shane Victorino (Triple), Placido Polanco (Single, RBI), John Mayberry, Jr. (Single) and Joe Blanton (Single) had the other four Phils’ hits. The other Phil run came in on a Marlins’ error.

The Phils (23-11, 1st) continue their series with the Marlins (20-14, 2nd) with a night game at Sun Life Stadium. The game will begin at 7:10 pm EDT. The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (5-1, 2.19), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on May 5, as he went seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits, while he struck out ten, in the Phils’ 7-3 win. He will be going for his sixth win, while trying to increase the Phils’ lead to four games. The Marlins will send to the mound Josh Johnson (3-1, 1.68), who is coming off a lost against the Cardinals on May 5, as he went seven and one-third innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and four walks, as he struck out seven in the Marlins’ 6-3 lost. He wil be going for his fourth win while trying to recover for his previous lost. The Phils will be going for the series win, while trying to give the Doc some runs support against a tough starter.

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